Two men say they were beaten, run over

Driver of pickup accused of bat attack before vehicle assault

STOCKTON - A man told police someone deliberately ran over him and his friend about two hours after the same assailant severely beat them and two other men with a baseball bat Friday afternoon in central Stockton.

STOCKTON - A man told police someone deliberately ran over him and his friend about two hours after the same assailant severely beat them and two other men with a baseball bat Friday afternoon in central Stockton.

Raymond Hendrickson, 47, said he and three other men were walking near East Lafayette and South Union streets shortly after 1 p.m. when a man wielding a bat accused them of attempting to steal a car. Hendrickson said they were walking home from lunch and were not doing anything nefarious.

"We were just walking past the property," Hendrickson said. "We weren't trespassing or stealing or anything."

Hendrickson said the assailant beat him and his acquaintances, sending one to a hospital with a head laceration and another with a bone protruding from his arm.

Authorities were unable to verify the extent of those injuries, and an official from American Medical Response said only one person involved in the incident was taken to a hospital by ambulance.

The other two men, Hendrickson and a 20-year-old acquaintance, were walking on the sidewalk at East Lafayette Street and South Airport Way shortly after 3 p.m. when the assailant drove up in a late-model silver Chevy pickup with one other occupant, Hendrickson said.

Hendrickson said the man drove onto the curb, striking Hendrickson and his acquaintance. There were skid marks on the sidewalk where Hendrickson said the two men were standing when they were hit.

The assailant then put his truck in reverse, running over the 20-year-old man a second time, Hendrickson said. Hendrickson said the truck's tires rolled over his legs and his friend's chest.

"He did it on purpose," Hendrickson said. "He came after us deliberately."

Thomas was taken to the hospital with what appeared to be moderate injuries. He had a gash on his forehead and lacerations on his legs. Hendrickson had cuts on his hands and a badly swollen arm, but he declined medical treatment at the scene.

The assailant was described as a white man in his 30s with short hair and a medium build.